While this Chevy Camaro tried to present drifting demonstration at a Michigan dragstrip last weekend, its side air bags spontaneously deployed, slightly burning a passenger.
The Camaro driven by Paul Beiswenger was caught by a spectator at the Milan Dragway in Milan, Mich. and it showed no signs of injury before the side-curtain bags randomly appear to have deployed. According to Jalopnik, the videographer says a woman riding in the passenger seat suffered a minor burn on her arm.
Asked about this… let’s call it ‘accident’, GM spokesman Alan Adler sends this explanation:
It is unusual to have this occur. However, it is possible for a driver to create conditions where the air bag sensors believe a rollover is imminent. This can lead to an unwanted air bag deployment. On rollover side curtain bags, the vehicle’s rollover sensing system is looking for a certain set of factors that “predict” a vehicle is going to roll over. The airbag system cannot wait until it is too late to deploy the airbags. Drifting or creating a situation that has a certain combination of speed and vehicle angle can lead to an unwanted air bag deployment.
Source: Jalopnik
